Earlier this month G5 News and Issues profiled South Alabama head coach, Joey Jones, in a Coaching Minute feature. Here is what I wrote about Jones:
"Jones has a winning record with the Jaguars and has lead South Alabama's short transition from startup in 2009 to full FBS member in 2012. Jones has built South Alabama into a hard working competitive program. He has done a remarkable job starting a college football program from scratch and having it receive an invite to the Sun Belt Conference. Jones has built the program in talent rich Alabama one recruit at a time. Jones has good upside for the team and has proven he knows how to win".
Jones hard work is starting to pay off, as Phil Steele, in his annual All Conference Preview, named 18 South Alabama Jaguars to his Sun Belt list. The most of any team in the Sun Belt. Included in that 18 were 4 first team all Sun Belt selections.
The Jaguars who finished 6-6 last season, including a 4-3 Sun Belt Conference record, are beginning to take advantage of strong recruiting and good coaching. The 2014 season for South Alabama is hard to predict as they need to replace much of the front seven on defense and QB Ross Metheny. The good news for the Jaguars however, is that they return the majority of their offensive line and still maintain a very good WR Corps.
Regardless of how the 2014 season ends for South Alabama( perhaps as high as 3rd in the Sunbelt) they are beginning to turn heads in the Sun Belt Conference. By making the most of the talent in their area the Jaguars are building a program that can and should be a real contender in football for many years to come. Retaining Joey Jones as Head Coach should be at the top of any priority list for the South Alabama AD.
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I take exception to the comment that USA could finish "perhaps as high as 3rd in the Sunbelt". 3rd place is NOT our cap. USA was one point from tying for the conference championship last year and two points away from winning it outright. South Alabama could finish as high as 1st in the Sun Belt...
ReplyDeleteFirst, glad you found us and thanks for reading. My biggest concern for South Alabama is the QB position and front seven on defense. Breaking in a new Qb is hard for any team. I would be happy to be proven wrong.
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We do have questions on defense, but I'm not that worried at quarterback. Brandon Bridge actually received significant playing time at QB last year and definitely made a difference in some games (ask Western Kentucky). He has tremendous arm strength. Starting him isn't like starting someone without experience. With the receiving corp that we have, along with our backs and offensive line, I think Brandon Bridge has a chance at a great season.
ReplyDeleteWe really are not "breaking in" a new QB in the traditional sense. For much of last season we utilized a 2 qb system and Bridge proved quite capable. Most believe that our QB play will actually improve over last year given a great spring and summer and getting 1st team reps in the upcoming fall camp.
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